Analysis - Kitchen Stories (2003, Dir. Bent Hamer)

Kitchen Stories (2003, Dir. Bent Hamer)

Kitchen Stories follows an observer, whose job it is to view the kitchen habits of a single man (a research subject) in an attempt to understand his character. I have found this film really interesting to view and also to be really useful to analyse in terms of the similar angle that it takes to our own film - that of exploring character through space. 

Within Kitchen Stories, one space becomes more than just that and instead is used to tell and drive the narrative. With our own film being set in just one room, we wanted to achieve having a focus on observation from the viewer's perspective. Another similar connection between our own film and Kitchen Stories is that the understanding of a character through this close observation is explored. The viewer is constantly looking for clues, finding themselves in the position of the observer's character during the film, making it appear as quite a self reflexive film.

Although Kitchen Stories feels from a viewer's perspective that it is communicating the need for a further level of engagement between characters in order to fully understand and interpret them, our film plays on more of the production design features and what a person's own space and habits communicate about their character, without the need for dialogue. I think on some level our film is also trying to challenge viewer's own perceptions of the fear Agoraphobia, as we explore the fear itself in so much depth and show elements to it that viewers may not necessarily understand or associate with their understanding of the term Agoraphobia.
This connects in some ways to Kitchen Stories, as it goes into further depth about the theme of observation, and leans towards the idea that even by the close observation of a character, it can still be difficult to fully understand them through this alone. When viewing Kitchen Stories, through an understanding of the narrative as well as being aware of our own viewing habits and the way in which we are observing characters, there is a joint understanding between viewer and character that it is difficult to gain an accurate insight into the world of another character through purely closely observing them. Within Kitchen Stories, there is a suggestion that more needs to be done, such as communication and involvement with the character in order to fully understand them, whereas within our own film we are aiming to take more of an insightful look into just five minutes of a character's daily fear, aiming to go with more of a behind closed doors narrative, instead of revealing much reason behind the character in terms of their backstory.